If you don’t yet have a favorite local vodka, here’s your chance to figure it out. Once you’ve chosen your brand, proceed directly to our easy recipe for Sugar Plum and Sage Infused Vodka and enjoy the lovely aroma of simmering ginger, cinnamon, anise, and sage. If you’re looking for a non-alcoholic edible gift, skip the vodka and deliver a bottle of Sugar Plum Syrup with a six-pack of sparkling ginger water from the supermarket.

Sugar Plum and Sage Infused Vodka Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 lb plums
1/4 cup turbinado sugar
1-inch piece ginger, peeled
1 vanilla bean
2 cinnamon sticks
1 star anise
2 fresh sage sprigs
1/2 cup water
1 bottle locally distilled vodka

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all of the ingredients, excluding the vodka, into a sauce pot and simmer until a thick syrup is formed.
2. Strain everything though a fine-mesh strainer, reserving the plum syrup.
3. Place plum syrup into decorative bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with vodka.
4. Use Sugar Plum and Sage Infused Vodka in cocktails or sip over ice. Imagine making a cosmopolitan or a gimlet with this delicious stuff! A sealed bottle will last up to 6 months in the refrigerator.

Recipe and Styling by Anna Calabrese / Photography by Dave Bryce

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